VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Remembering the Wild And Wonderful Maurice Sendak

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Remembering the Wild And Wonderful Maurice Sendak

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I’m June Simms. This week on our program, we play new music from Jack² White…

And we remember the wildly creative American author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak…

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Maurice Sendak and "Where the Wild Things Are"

JUNE SIMMS: America lost one of its greatest writers and illustrators this week. Maurice Sendak died May eighth of problems linked to a stroke. He was eighty-three years old.

Maurice Sendak's work helped redefine children’s literature. Shirley Griffith has more about the man and his most popular book.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Maurice Sendak was the writer and illustrator of more than one hundred children’s books. But, he is best known for “Where the Wild Things Are,” published in nineteen sixty-three. Its main character is a little boy named Max, who is a hero to millions of children.

Max’s mother sends her son to his room without dinner when he starts acting³ like a wild animal. But, once there, his imagination sends him even farther. He watches as his room disappears and a forest grows. Max begins his trip on a nearby sea:

READER: And he sailed off through night and day / And in and out of weeks / And almost over a year / to where the wild things are.

These wild things are big, loud and hairy with huge teeth and long claws. They make loud, angry noises in an effort to frighten Max. But he is able to quiet them with one brave move.

READER: Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes with out blinking once.

So, Max becomes ruler of the wild things. Together, they hang from trees, dance and have fun until Max becomes lonely for home. So just like his mother, he sends the wild things to bed without supper. And Max returns to “where someone loves him best of all.” The reader knows Max finds that love when he sees his meal waiting for him back in his room, still hot.

The simply written story is supported by richly colored and extremely expressive⁴ drawings. Max’s rebellious⁵ behavior is captured in a picture of him holding up a fork as he chases a little dog down the steps. The drawings of Max’s room melting into a forest make the imaginary trip believable.

And the artist somehow creates wild things that are more lovable than frightening, even with their sharp teeth and yellow eyes. The pictures won Maurice Sendak a Caldecott Medal, probably the most celebrated⁶ award for children’s book artists.

“Where the Wild Things Are” was not widely praised when first released. Some critics and mental health experts worried that it was too angry or frightening for young children. But it was Maurice Sendak’s ability to connect with the emotional lives of children that made the book so popular.

Many children see themselves in Max. They find their power in his rule over the wild things. And, they can find a peaceful security in Max’s welcome home supper.

Maurice Sendak loved books from a young age. He was sick for much of his childhood. He spent many days in his bed reading and drawing pictures.

Maurice Sendak was born in nineteen twenty-eight in the Brooklyn area of New York City. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. The little boy grew up with continuous reminders⁷ about death. When he was sick, his grandmother dressed him in white clothes she thought would help him avoid death.

Members of his family were killed in Nazi⁸ German death camps during World War Two. Maurice Sendak spoke⁹ about his mother crying each time she learned that someone had been killed. The writer said that, as a child, he wondered why he got to live while so many other Jewish children were killed.

These experiences help explain an important part of his books. They often show children overcoming evil forces and other complex situations, like Max’s victory over the wild things. Maurice Sendak’s young characters struggle to survive while facing difficult emotions, including fear. In fact, the writer once said that children surviving childhood was the central concern of his work.

Maurice Sendak began his career in the comic book industry. In his later career, he also designed sets for plays. In two thousand nine, he finally permitted a movie version of his most famous book. He said director Spike¹⁰ Jonze could be trusted with the work.

The movie “Where the Wild Things Are” received critical praise.

(SOUND: “Where the Wild Things Are”)

Maurice Sendak died in Connecticut, where he lived. His friend, writer Bill Joyce, recently wrote of his visit with Sendak last year. Mister Joyce wrote that Sendak said he was ready to die. And that he felt happy, for the first time in his life.

We will have more about Maurice Sendak Monday on THIS IS AMERICA.

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Jack White “Blunderbuss”

JUNE SIMMS: Musician Jack White is famous for his bands, the White Stripes and the Raconteurs¹¹. But the thirty-six-year-old guitarist and singer is now performing in the singular. White’s new album “Blunderbuss” is his first solo project. And sales suggest it will be just as popular as his earlier records. Mario Ritter plays some of the new music.

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MARIO RITTER: That is “Freedom at 21” from Jack White’s new album “Blunderbuss.” Third Man Records released it as a single in a most unusual way. In early April, White took one thousand vinyl copies of the recording¹², tied them to helium balloons, and let them float up to the sky over Nashville, Tennessee. Only a few have been recovered and some of those are being offered e-Bay.

Jack White was featured in Interview Magazine this month. The magazine asked him who he wanted as his questioner. White chose the second man to step on the moon, Apollo Eleven astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The musician tells Aldrin about his interest in space. He says, “I write a lot about the moon --- I even wrote a song about it for the new record. So it was important for me to speak to somebody who has actually been there.”

The song is “On and On and On.”

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Some critics have claimed the new album is all about Jack White’s recent separation from his wife, singer/songwriter and model Karen Elson. The two split in two thousand eleven. But the situation did not seem angry or hateful. In fact, last summer, the couple had a party to celebrate their sixth anniversary and the ending of their marriage. And his company Third Man Records released her first album. So the song “Love Interruption” from “Blunderbuss” is probably not about Jack White’s failed marriage.

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“Blunderbuss” entered Billboard¹³ Magazines Top Two Hundred Albums list this week at number one. Jack White is touring now in support of the new album. We leave you with Jack White performing “Take Me with You When You Go,” from “Blunderbuss.”

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JUNE SIMMS: I’m June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁴.

Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic in VOA Special English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

5 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

8 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 raconteurs   

n.善于讲轶事的人( raconteur的名词复数 )

参考例句：

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。